It is the purpose of this project to study the biological effects of substances from Bordetella pertussis with special emphasis on those substances that induce physiological and immunological responses in animals. Areas of current investigation are: 1) determining whether the induction of histamine hypersensitivity in mice by endotoxin provides a relatively inexpensive, simple, yet sensitive assay, as compared to pyrogenicity in rabbits and lethality to chick embryos; 2) ability of pertussigen and endotoxin to block Beta-adrenergic receptors, as determined by their effects on uptake of 3H-thymidine in mouse parotid salivary glands; 3) effectiveness of Alpha-adrenergic blocking agents to protect against histamine toxicity in pertussigen-treated mice; 4) protection provided by transition metal salts against histamine toxicity in endotoxin- and pertussigen-treated mice. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Bergman, R.K. and Munoz, J.J.: Increased histamine sensitivity in mice after administration of endotoxins. Infect. Immun. 15: 72-77, 1977.